Senza Limiti

Words that sum up maserati’s latest a lot better than levante, that’s for sure.

- Raunak Ajinkya

That we’re in the midst of a rather experimental phase is quite obvious. For a while now, SUVs have crossed the minds of every car manufacturer who’s got some ambition of making money. And that’s why brands like Maserati are getting serious about going from making luxurious, sporty sedans to also producing fourdoor hatchback shopping-mall crawlers. Has the world gone a step too far in its loony-ness? Probably, but that doesn’t seem to stop them anyway.

So What Do We have here?

The Maserati of SUVs, that’s what. If that sounds a bit much then I’d like to point out that that’s Maserati’s tag line for the Levante, not mine. The work that Maserati’s done on the Levante, however, is a good reminder of just how important it believes this car is for its future. For a start, this SUV has been on the cards for 13 years now. I’ve only ever seen that kind of dedication and commitment from my parents in holding onto one of their cars (‘What’s the use of buying another if we’re going to replace it at some point anyway?’).

All that time, though, seems to have been spent well. Pictures don’t do it complete justice because the Levante looks and feels a lot bigger and plusher in person. It’s not instantly attractive like, say, the Jaguar F-Pace, but it’s got a way of growing on you. It’s based on the Ghibli’s platform which gives it some solid guts, and Maserati’s really gone all out in an effort to impress you because there’s an optional Ermenegildo Zegna-designed interior you can opt for. It really wants to drive the Italian-ness of the car home, clearly.